Step #1: Warm-up activity. Listen to the following eleven minute episode from the radio show Studio360:
(Ask the librarian if you need headphones)
THE MYSTERY OF SMELL
. Use the information you learn from one of this episode to help you recognize the potential power of smell when employed by a writer.Note: Use the following links if the link above does not work.
PART ONE:
PART TWO:
PART THREE:
PART FOUR:
Step #2: Journal Entry
Use the sense of smell to help you recall specific memories. Find at least five "smelly" objects that have strong, distinct odors such as crayons, items from your back back, library books, coffee, etc. (Note: ask to visit the coffee lounge in the library to find more smells).
Sniff each sample and describe the memory that is invoked by the smell. Tip: Use the present tense when recording your memories. This will help you "return to the moment" of the event. You also may find the smell wheel chart posted at the top of this post helpful in describing smells.
Use your notes to create a list poem titled, "Smelly Childhood Memories".
For each smell complete notes in the following areas:
Name the smell Shape: Is it round or does it have edges? Texture: Is it hard or soft? Sharp or dull? Smooth or rough? Even or jagged? Smooth or rough? Heavy or light? Cool or hot? Taste: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty, or yeasty? Color: Is it bright or dark? What color is it? (Use a crayon or paint strip to record your answer) Sound: Is it loud or soft? Fast tempo or slow? Describe the memory or personal image that the smell invokes.
Sample responses from students:
Catcher’s mitt is a D flat gulp of lukewarm coffee. (wright)
The sharp cinnamon gracefully leaps off the high dive into your resting senses. (1st in class)
Old book smell: Stale biscotti in the back room of an old café. (2nd in class)
My mom’s perfume is a smooth slice of a yellow sweet cake.
Vicks attacks with an addictive spear masked by a quilt from grandmother’s attic.
The soft smooth jade green hemp is cool on mummy’s skin as her footsteps beat a slow tempo to shut off my light.
The jagged tea sets up residence in my nose, complete with a scratchy burgundy afghan.
People recall smells with a 65% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about 50% after only three months.
Our odor memories frequently have strong emotional qualities and are associated with the good or bad experiences in which they occurred. Olfaction is handled by the same part of the brain (the limbic system) that handles memories and emotions. Therefore, we often find that we can immediately recognize and respond to smells from childhood such as the smell of clean sheets, cookies baking in the oven, the smell of new books or a musty room in Grandma’s house. Very often we cannot put a name to these odors yet they have a strong emotive association even if they cannot be specifically identified.
Activity: Sniffing out Memories
Step #1:
Warm-up activity. Listen to the following eleven minute episode from the radio show Studio360:
(Ask the librarian if you need headphones)
THE MYSTERY OF SMELL
. Use the information you learn from one of this episode to help you recognize the potential power of smell when employed by a writer. Note: Use the following links if the link above does not work.PART ONE:
PART TWO:
PART THREE:
PART FOUR:
Step #2: Journal Entry
Name the smell
Shape: Is it round or does it have edges?
Texture: Is it hard or soft? Sharp or dull? Smooth or rough? Even or jagged? Smooth or rough? Heavy or light? Cool or hot?
Taste: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty, or yeasty?
Color: Is it bright or dark? What color is it? (Use a crayon or paint strip to record your answer)
Sound: Is it loud or soft? Fast tempo or slow?
Describe the memory or personal image that the smell invokes.
Sample responses from students:
Catcher’s mitt is a D flat gulp of lukewarm coffee. (wright)
The sharp cinnamon gracefully leaps off the high dive into your resting senses. (1st in class)
Old book smell: Stale biscotti in the back room of an old café. (2nd in class)
My mom’s perfume is a smooth slice of a yellow sweet cake.
Vicks attacks with an addictive spear masked by a quilt from grandmother’s attic.
The soft smooth jade green hemp is cool on mummy’s skin as her footsteps beat a slow tempo to shut off my light.
The jagged tea sets up residence in my nose, complete with a scratchy burgundy afghan.
Our odor memories frequently have strong emotional qualities and are associated with the good or bad experiences in which they occurred. Olfaction is handled by the same part of the brain (the limbic system) that handles memories and emotions. Therefore, we often find that we can immediately recognize and respond to smells from childhood such as the smell of clean sheets, cookies baking in the oven, the smell of new books or a musty room in Grandma’s house. Very often we cannot put a name to these odors yet they have a strong emotive association even if they cannot be specifically identified.